SUPER Eagles’ former Chief Coach, Samson Siasia says he is worried by the poor form and cohesion in the defence line paraded by Coach Stephen Keshi in the international friendly against Mexico in Houston Texas at the weekend.

Although Siasia admitted that the team had an impressive outing against the Mexicans, he urged Keshi to concentrate more on the team’s defence, adding that the defence required more attention as they prepare to face both Kenya and Namibia in crucial World Cup qualifiers away from home.

Speaking after the rescheduled Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) between Kano Pillars and Heartland in Abuja, Siasia noted that the team would miss Victor Moses and Emmanuel Emenike in the games against Kenya and Nambia, and urged those stepping in for them to prove that they are equally good.

In the game against Mexico, there were “ lots of ball possessions. I wish they can continue like that and then work more on the defence because Chicharito had a couple of chances at the back all by himself. They have to shift from one area to the other to ensure that they stopped the possibilities of scoring such goals. My advice is that the crew have to watch out in the defence and ensure they stay close to checkmate the strikers.”

Siasia said Keshi has done a good job of building a strong team, adding, “all I am just worried is the backline and how they defend. If Keshi could work on the defence to work a bit better, I think our chances will be very great.

“As for the new faces, it is going to be difficult prosecuting crucial matches with new faces because it takes a while to build a team. He has to keep changing and changing until he has a formidable team. All the same, the good thing is that Keshi knows that the friendly against Mexico was very important.”

The coach, who won a silver medal at the Beijing 2008 Olympics with the national Under-23 team, added, “I hope that majority of the players that played in that friendly should play against Kenya because they have achieved some level of understanding right now. It will not be good for Keshi to bring in new sets of players again because there would be a bit of confusion,” he noted.